I was not a big fan of Sonia Dada at this point, having heard their music on radio and listened casually to A Day At The Beach. But tickets were only $12.25 apiece, so I thought, how can could it be?

Turns out that Sonia Dada is a fantastic live group, with something always going on on stage, whether it's keyboardist Chris Cameron's funny hats, vocalists Sam Hogan and Paris Delane dancing, guitarist David Resnik bouncing up and down as he plays, or the calm presence of bassist Eric Scott in the background. They played to a packed house of about 900 people, mixing in songs from both their albums as well as a track which I imagine will appear on their third album in 1997.

The opening act was the local group Marques Bovre and the Evil Twins, who played a set from their then-latest album, Flyover Land. This concert turned me onto them, and I've since bought all their albums.

July 20, 1996, Barrymore Theater, Madison, WI

I was delighted when the band returned to Madison just four months after their last show. The only knock against this concert is that it was nearly identical to their previous show. They mixed in a couple of short gospel tunes, and vocalist Michael Scott was seriously ill that evening, though he decided to perform anyway.

The opening act this evening was The Badlees, who were not a great live act (everyone but the vocalist seemed heavily medicated), but the music was enjoyable enough that I picked up their album, River Songs.

October 10, 1997, Barrymore Theater, Madison, WI

As I've been waiting for their next album to come out, I've also been wishing they'd return to play in Madison. They finally did, and I went to see them. Once again, tickets were merely $10.00. I also read in the newspaper the day before the show that vocalist Sam Hogan had left the group due to a drug problem, and that a female vocalist would be filling his spot, since they didn't want to just try to replace him, but to try something different.

The opening act was Vigilantes of Love, a group out of Athens, GA, who had some stage presence and musical ability, but their songs all sounded the same to me, with rather over-wrought lyrics. Oh, well.

But when Sonia Dada took the stage, the opening act was forgotten. They kicked off with a song I'd never heard before, but which neatly showcased the abilities of each band member. Then they played another new song, and another, and then they announced that they'd been nervous about playing songs from their upcoming new album to open the show, but since we seemed to enjoy it they'd play a few more. Well, yes, it was very good stuff, and the next album sounds like it will be a lot of fun!

This flip side to this was just as good, as it meant that all their best stuff from their first two albums was packed into the second half of the show. "Lay My Body Down" turned into an extended 15-minute jam, and "Sail Away" just sounds so much better on stage than on album. I rather wish they'd toss out "Anna Lee" and add "The Edge Of The World", but overall it was a hell of a show, and I look forward to the new album with great anticipation!